Christian View

This blog is primarily a word about the incomparable Christ who owns all, controls all and will one day be worshipped by all, and it is a word about the elements in our society that militate against that Christ. If you find benefit here you might enjoy my web page. Come to http://www.thebibleeplace.org

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Calvinissssm...I wonder!

Calvinissm. What an inflammatory word. It slides from between clenched teeth like the hiss of the serpent. Calvinissst! What an indictment. For one preacher to call another preacher a Calvinist is to heap on him one of the worst invectives immaginable. It means one is anti-evangelism, anti-soulwinning, cold hearted, intellectually and spiritually dry.Calvinissssm.

Where did the word come from anyway? I think it came from a man named George Calvin who imposed his doctrine on the word of God. Yes!...Now that I think of it...I'm sure that's where the word originated. And later (after Calvin died) some man named Synord Dort captulated Calvin's doctrines into 5 points. Here they are...And I am only writing this to warn you so that you won't be infected with this terrible doctrine that has been IMPOSED on the word of God.Here they are...are you ready?

1. Total Depravity: It means that mankind has so fallen away from God that he has no ability or desire, in himself, to do one spiritual good thing. It means that, left to himself, he has no will at all to please God, or even to come to God. Eph.2:1-3; Rom. 8:8; Rom. 7:18; 1Cor. 2:14; Titus 1:15; Jer. 17:9; John 15:9; John 6:44-45; Jer. 13:23. WARNING!!!PLEASE DO NOT LOOK UP ANY OF THESE SCRIPTURES BECAUSE YOU MIGHT FALL FOR THIS HERESY CALLED TOTAL DEPRAVITY!

2. Unconditional Election: It means that those who become children of God are made that way based on a choice God made concerning them without any regard to their own merit. God's election is based solely and totally in His own free will and grace. He elects according to His own will.Eph 13-6; 2Thes. 2:13; Mt 24:31; Rom. 9:8-16; Rom. 11:5; 1Thes. 1:4. AGAIN...I FEEL COMPELLED TO WARN YOU. CAREFUL STUDY OF THESE PASSAGES MIGHT INFLUENCE YOU IN THE WRONG WAY. PLEASE DO NOT...I REPEAT..PLEASE DO NOT LOOK UP THESE PASSAGES OR GIVE THEM ANY THOUGHT AT ALL.

3. Limited Atonement: It means that those whom God the Father unconditionally elected are the same people for whom Christ specifically died. It does not mean that the blood of Christ is not offered to all nor does it mean that the blood of Christ is not sufficient for all, but it does mean that the blood of Christ does not wash away the sins of all...else all would be saved.John 3:16 (whosoever there is the translation of a participle...All the ones believing.);Eph. 2:13 (the people referred to here were "made nigh by the blood," it does not say that the blood made it possible for them to come nigh.); Gal. 3:13; Rev. 5:9 (Those singing this song of joy were redeemed OUT OF the rest of mankind not along with all of mankind.) PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T LET THESE VERSEs DISTURB YOU. THEY PROBABLY DON'T MEAN WHAT THEY SAY...UH..WHAT THE SEEM TO SAY. JUST BE VERY CAREFUL THAT YOU ARE NOT LED ASTRAY HERE.

4. Irresistible Grace: It means that those whom God the Father has elected and God the Son has specifically redeemed are sought out and inwardly changed by the Holy Spirit so that they, contrary to all other men, and contrary to their own natures if left alone, now willingly choose Christ as their Lord and Savior. It does not mean that the work of the Holy Spirit cannot be resisted. It means that God's grace overrules everything to bring His elect to Himself. John 6:44-45; 1Cor. 2:14; John 3:1-8; Jer. 13:23; 2Cor. 5:17. HA, HA! ISN'T THAT ONE FUNNY? EVERYBODY KNOWS THAT MAN HAS A FREE WILL AND SO IF HE EVER COMES TO GOD IT IS WHOLLY BECAUSE HE CHOOSES TO. DON'T BE FOOLED BY THOSE WHO TAKE THESE VERSES OUT OF CONTEXTUAL APPLICATION.

5. Perseverance of the Saints: It means that all whom God the Father elects, and all whom the Son specifically redeems, and all whom the Holy Spirit changes , will be enabled by God to continue to live a life of faith until the day they die. They will never fall from grace. They will be enabled to persevere in their total reliance upon Christ for their salvation all the rest of their days on earth. John 10:25-29; Heb. 7:25; John 6:38-40; John 3:36; 1John 5:13. FINALLY WE HAVE REACHED THE ONLY POINT IN THIS DISCUSSION THAT MAKES ANY SENSE TO ME. THANK GOD WE ARE ONCT SAVED ALWAYS SAVED! HERE CALVIN WAS CORRECT. IF YOU HAVE EVER MADE ANY KIND OF PROFESSION OF FAITH AT ANYTIME UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES...EVEN IF YOUR LIFE HAS NEVER CHANGED AT ALL SINCE THEN....DON'T WORRY. ONCT SAVED ALWAYS SAVED!

But let me warn you again against this Calvinissssssm. Most of this stuff is hearsay. But then, I wonder why all those verses say what they do? Hmmmmm? I wonder if they really mean what they say? I wonder if maybe ole George Calvin might have gotten some of what he said from those verses? Maybe these things aren't IMPOSED on the Scriptures but really are coming OUT OF the Scripture. Hmmmm. I wonder why most of the early Baptists believed all this stuff. Hmm. Maybe I was a little hasty. I'll get back to you on all this.

Tuesday, October 17, 2006

I was sitting in a dermatologist's office yesterday waiting to be called back for an exam. I was sitting with my back to the wall facing the rest of the patients. To my left was a young couple with a beautiful little girl about three years old. Across the room was a mother with her two children who looked to be maybe two or three years old. There was a large blank pad of paper fastened to the wall for the children to "write" on and they were taking advantage of their opportunity. Directly across from me was an older man and woman. The man sat with his chin in his hand looking out into nothing. The woman (whom I presumed to be his wife) was turned completly around in her chair staring at the television located in the upper left corner of the waiting room. It was early afternoon; the usual times for the soap operas to be coming on. This particular soap opera was seeping out all over the waiting room floor. There we were, a bunch of strangers, in a 12' by 15' room, altogether about seven of us (including the children), and for the period of time I was there, we were subjected to one grunting, gasping, nude or nearly nude sex scene after another. Literally!

This was not an adult book or video store. This was not a peep show at the county fair. This was not some sleazy strip joint...no...this was in the office of a public business. I was and am outraged...and sickened.

A few weeks ago my wife and I were watching a G rated animal show on television. You know...the kind of show that has videos of animals doing silly and funny things. Just the thing for children to be watching and giggling at...right? Wrong! The host introduced a segment about animals acting like they were in love. A few of the clips were cute. Then one was introduced that pictured two dogs acting like dogs. ( I can't be more graphic than that because I am trying to be decent.) The "voice over" laughingly talked about the fact that these cute animals had been estranged from each other but now they were getting back together. My stomach turned.

I write this to say that there was a time when a pervert had to search to find these kinds of things, but we live in a society that throws them up on you at every turn.

There is a reason for this I think. A society that has rejected God has rejected morality. And a society that has rejected morality has rejected order. The sex scenes in the doctor's office and the filthy implications of the animal show host all have subtle political undertones. They go along nicely with unparalled political hatred, race baiting, the rise in violent crime, and a dozen other sociological ills that pervade our culture. Young people are raised on MTV and such with thier amoral and immoral role models. Drugs are "cool" sex is "free" and actions have no real consequences. After all, if an unwanted fetus forms just dispose of it. (I did not use the usual terms "child" and "kill" just to emphasize the way we get around the reality of the consequences of our actions.)

Chaos and disorder are vaunted as the norm and as extremely desirable. "Cool" means dad's an idiot and mom is a mental basket case. "Cool" is when mom's name is Jan and dad's name is Alice. When disorder prevails anarchy reigns. Anarchy by its very nature cries for order.

The obvious thing is for those who are out of power to create and encourage chaos in order to produce a situation where power must change hands. Order itself has no need. Chaos is nothing but need in action. Anarchy is usually taken up by those who have no love for the status quo but have no idea what to put in its place. But don't be deceived for a minute. There are those who are in the shadows just waiting for the inevitable. Chaos and anarchy always end up opting for some kind of order. What this means is that out of anarchy order emerges and many times that order (spelled p-o-w-e-r) comes to anybody or any group that will restore some sort of sanity. Witness pre Nazi Germany.

Postmodern thought has now so filtered down to the common man that order and chaos are said to be one and the same. Rejection of God and His order always result in just such mindlessness. And the modern American culture, for the most part, has rejected the order provided by the God of the Christian Bible. When the morals of that God and the order those morals provide are destroyed be sure there are sinister powers waiting to instill their own kind of order. It is not just a dirty television program that I am bothered about. It is the very fabric of our free society that is at risk.

I am very afraid for my children's children.

KJV Isaiah 5:20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!